OMNIA SUNT COMMUNIA

Although GRUPPO AUTONOMO SUONATORI -- or G.A.S. -- has existed well over two decades by now, no sooner than last summer they released their debut album via Black Widow. And a very fine RPI album it is. The musicianship is excellent and so is the production. Stylistically the band could be taken as a prime example of the very faithful contemporary representation of the classic Italian prog. Definitely they are not alone in this matter, for one could say at least 70 percent of the vintage-style Rock Progressivo Italiano has been recorded in this Millennium. The worn-out phrase "sounds like straight from the seventies" has, in a way, lost its meaning; if it was to be taken literally, the production of a new album would be quite poor by modern standards and it surely would exclude this work. But yes, I'm saying that judged by the music alone this album stands perfectly amidst the whole legacy of RPI.

Now I hear you asking why I'm not rating this with five stars. First off, I'm not a person who gives the biggest album classics automatically the full rating. Nor am I among those prog listeners who blame new acts of sounding retro and aping the seventies. Before getting into the more detailed analysis of this album and concentrating on all that's great, I can put in a nutshell the factors preventing me to raise this album subjectively to the masterpiece category. The vocals of the songwriting frontman Claudio Barone (who also plays bass, bouzouki and mandolin) are not up to my taste -- in fact this is the case with the majority of all-time RPI, sad to say. His rough-edged voice comes quite close to Mark Trueack of UNITOPIA, or in general many vocalists of hard-edged RPI bands. On a couple of tracks he pushes his voice out rather aggressively. And as strong as this album is for sure, in the end it doesn't really MOVE me emotionally as a whole, only here and there.

The good thing is that this 50-minute album is roughly half instrumental. The opening track 'Alice Spring' (does it have something to do with the Australian location called Alice Springs?) features a lot of saxophone and organ in the vein of Van der Graaf Generator, and a powerful melodic main phrase. 'Regina' is a two-part composition, starting with a romantic, piano-centred, slightly Wakemanesque instrumental part. The sung part is very nice too as it features xylophone, flute and PFM-like synths. Next, two 'Preludio'-instrumentals. No. 1 is a charming little folk- rock piece starring bouzouki, mandolin and Irish flute. The Old Music (Medieval/Renaissance) flavour sounds very authentic in this piece written by Barone. No. 2 is rooted on acoustic guitar and synths. A bit like STEVE HACKETT at his most romantic.

'Il Sacco di Bisanzio' is the most vocal-oriented and clearly my least favourite track here. However it does have cool sonic details, and as an instrumental I'd like it much more. The three-part 'Beatrice' (9:16) has folky nuances quite the same way as the early PFM. Barone as a vocalist is more sensual on this dynamic and passionate track. 'Il Richiamo della Sirena' is the only track not composed by Claudio Barone: drummer Valter Bono and synths player Thomas Cozzani offer a lively, fusion-y instrumental. The delicate mid-section is perhaps the album's most modern- sounding moment. The title track (9:17) is an impressive finale to the album, starting with a cinematic, narrated intro. This is the other track in which vocals are too pushed, but I love the magical flute riffs, the majestic organ part and even the Gregorian flavoured repetition of "Omnia sunt communia".

If you want to get just one album of Rock Progressivo Italiano from 2021, this is my strongest recommendation this far. A masterful combination of vintage semi-heavy prog, classical and folk elements. 4½ stars, rounded down mainly because of the less enjoyable vocals.

Gruppo Autonomo Suonatori came to life in La Spezia in 1998 on the initiative of Claudio Barone with the aim of re-interpreting the classic pieces of the Italian prog masters from the seventies. After many years spent playing covers and trying to shape their own sound, some personnel changes and a good live activity, in 2021 the band finally released an interesting debut album containing their original compositions, entitled "Omnia sunt communia", on the independent Black Widow Records label with a line up featuring Claudio Barone (vocals, bass, bouzouki, mandolin), Andrea Imparato (sax, flute), Simone Galleni (guitar, bass, bouzouki), Valter Bono (drums, percussion), Thomas Cozzani (synthesizer) and Andrea Foce (piano, electric piano, flute) plus the guest Andrea Cozzani (bass). In some way this work summarizes the history of the band and its roots, as represented by the art cover...

The opener "Alice Spring" is an interesting instrumental track that starts by a strong ethnic flavour with tribal percussion and a didgeridoo-like synth in the forefront, then the rhythm takes off and the music veers in another direction evoking exotic landscapes and adventurous rides under a sunny Australian sky...

"La regina" (The queen) is divided into two parts and begins by a delicate piano passage and a section entitled "Il sogno" (The dream). Then the dreamy atmosphere gives way to a strummed acoustic guitar that introduces a different mood and a quasi Medieval atmosphere. In the second part, entitled "La regina", the music and lyrics evoke a court dance. Eventually, through a short narrative vocals part, we learn that royal palace where the imaginary court dance has place is just the little home of a little girl who dreams of living in a fairy tale...

Next come two beautiful instrumental tracks, "Preludio I" and "Preludio II". The former could recall Le Orme of albums like Florian or Piccola rapsodia dell'ape with its acoustic, classical inspired feeling while the latter is darker, with melancholic synth notes soaring from a slow acoustic guitar arpeggio...

The music and lyrics of the following "Il sacco di Bisanzio" (The sack of Constantinople) conjure up the image of a man on the walls of Byzantium. He's looking with dismay at a threatening army marching towards the city. There's a sense of doom and surprise, what are they doing under the sign of the cross? They're crusaders and they're very far from the Holy Land that they were supposed to reconquer... It's the year 1204 A.D. and the Fourth Crusade takes an unexpected turn on account of money and power, a turn that will drive the Crusader army to capture, loot and destroy parts of the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Byzantium is burning with all its Christian tradition, it's the advent of the ephemeral Latin Empire of Constantinople...

"Beatrice" portrays in music and words a charming woman with the eyes full of tears and love. She's the muse of Dante Alighieri, prematurely passed away leaving the sommo poeta in mourning. She appears during the poet's journey into the afterlife evoking sweet memories and regrets, strong emotions and an everlasting love... Then it's the turn of the excellent, suggestive instrumental "Il richiamo della sirena" (The call of the siren), a dynamic piece full of Mediterranean flavours and dreamy atmospheres. You can set you imagination free and let the waves cradle you on a spellbound marine landscape...

The last track, "Omnia sunt communia" (All things in common), begins by a prayer, the Pater Noster recited in Aramaic language. Then the music and lyrics conjure up a battlefield. A commander looks at an army of poor peasants on the other side of the front and declares that they are nothing but a bunch of ragamuffins talking about equality and freedom led by a madman. They can't subvert law, order and power. The slaughter begins... This long, complex piece evokes The German Peasants' War, a widespread popular revolt in some German-speaking areas in Central Europe from 1524 to 1525. The revolt incorporated some principles and rhetoric from the emerging Protestant Reformation, through which the peasants sought influence and freedom. Radical Reformers like Thomas_Muntzer instigated and supported the uprise while, in contrast, Martin Luther condemned it as the devil's work and called for the nobles to put down the rebels like mad dogs. Eventually, the rebel's motto "omnia sunt communia", a Latin phrase and slogan that can be translated as "all things in common", becomes just the mark of another massacre perpetrated in the name of God under the sign of the cross, of a utopia suffocated by sword and hatchet...

On the whole, an excellent work and a must have for every Italianprog lover.